"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be."-- Douglas Adams

Friday, September 16, 2016

Highlander (1986)

Note: This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.

I remember first becoming aware of Highlander in high school. (It was
right around the time that the TV series began.) There were a lot of
other students that were fans of the movie and the series. It took a
while, but I finally got into the show, and then the movie.

The movies are about an Immortal called Connor MacLeod. This movie, the
first in the series, starts out with MacLeod in Madison Square Garden
watching a professional wrestling match. He has to leave in the middle
of the event because he senses another Immortal approaching. They meet
in the parking garage and have at it with swords. You see, the only way
that an Immortal can be killed is by having his head chopped off. An
Immortal that isn’t good with swords is a dead Immortal. When an
Immortal is killed by another Immortal, the victor gets the loser’s
quickening. In a show of stunning pyrotechnics, the victor gets all of
the loser’s memories, skills, and energy. In the end, there can be only
one. This one will rule the Earth.

After the fight in the
parking garage, which MacLeod wins, we go to a flashback. The movie is
basically a series of flashbacks. In the flashbacks, we get to see how
Connor MacLeod became an Immortal. Basically, Connor went into battle
with his clan and was killed by this other Immortal that goes by Kurgan.
This was his first death, apparently. (Once an Immortal initially dies,
they stop aging.) After Connor is brought back to his clan and prepared
for a funeral, he comes back to life. His clan freaks out and banishes
him.

He’s destined to wander the Earth until he meets Juan
Ramirez, a Spaniard from Egypt who talks with a familiar accent. (Sean
Connery plays him.) Ramirez teaches MacLeod everything there is to being
an Immortal. For instance, there are some basic rules. You can’t fight
on holy ground. When you do fight another Immortal, it’s supposed to be
one on one. For some reason, Immortals can’t have kids, even though
they’re born as ‘normal’ humans. Also, don’t lose your head, and that’s
meant in a literal sense. As I said, the only way for an Immortal to
truly die is to be decapitated. (Otherwise, they keep coming back.)

The part of the story that takes place in the present has to do with
Kurgan coming after MacLeod. (At first, Kurgan comes across as just
wanting MacLeod for his quickening, but MacLeod ends up with good reason
for wanting Kurgan dead.) Those that are into the swordfights, science
fiction or the sound track (done by Queen) probably won’t mind the
storyline. Other than that, the strong point of the story is setting up
the other movies and the TV series. The movie offers no reason and
little explanation as to why Immortals exist. Ramirez asks why the sun
rises. Are the starts just holes in the night sky?

The movie
is good versus bad. Kurgan is definitely bad. While MacLeod isn’t
someone you’d necessarily someone you’d want your daughter to bring
home, he is trying to fight evil and is good mostly by default. He does
show other likable characteristics, some of which don’t appear in this
movie, but measuring your age in centuries does take its toll. (Ramirez
is over 2,000 years old when he first meets MacLeod.) For instance,
MacLeod has to keep changing his name and leaving everything to himself.
(One point I’d like to bring up is that while his name has changed over
the years, his signature shows a great deal of similarity. While I’ve
had the same name my whole life, no two of my signatures are the same.)

If you’re just seeing this movie for something to watch one night, I’d
suggest you skip this movie. If you’re a fan of the show and are looking
for the history, go for it. The main draw seems to be the swordfights
and the science fiction aspects of the movies. If not for the fact that
the flashbacks were 450 years ago and in another country, they would get
a little confusing. Also, the movie shows the actual decapitations,
which may be too much for some of people. (The TV series didn’t show the
actual decapitations, partly to appease TV audiences and the network
and partly to meet budget and production constraints.)

Basically, when deciding whether or not to watch this movie, I’d recommend using your head.